Pumpkin Stew Recipe

This special stew is the meal our two kids look forward to each fall because we only get to enjoy it when the fresh pumpkins come out of the garden. The stew is cooked and served right in the pumpkin shell. A true taste of autumn, it also makes a pretty presentation at a potluck. —Donna Mosher, Augusta, Montana

Nutritional Facts

Directions

In a Dutch oven, brown meat in 2 tablespoons oil. Add water, potatoes, carrots, green pepper, garlic, onion, salt and pepper. Cover and simmer for 2 hours. Stir in bouillon and tomatoes. Wash pumpkin; cut to 6 to 8 in. circle around top stem. Remove top and set aside; discard seeds and loosen fibers from inside.

Place pumpkin in a shallow sturdy baking pan. Spoon stew into pumpkin and replace top. Brush outside of pumpkin with remaining oil. Bake at 325° for 2 hours or just until the pumpkin is tender (do not overbake). Serve stew from pumpkin, scooping out a little pumpkin with each serving.Yield: 8-10 servings.

Originally published as Pumpkin Stew in Taste of Home
October/November 1995, p37

"An excellent autumn meal for our family and our guests with a fun and seasonally-appropriate presentation. After reading other reviews, I also elected to reduce the cooking time to 1.5 hrs each in dutch oven and pumpkin. This worked out well for the vegetables, though I would have preferred the meat a little more tender. Speaking of veggies, I subbed turnips and a sweet potato for two of the three potatoes. I also deglazed the Dutch oven with a few glugs of red wine after browning the meat to add a bit of complexity. Have fun with this one. It seems to be rather forgiving."

"The stew was very tasty!! But next time I will cut down on the cooking time both in the dutch oven stage and the baking stage. Things cooked much quicker than I expected. The pumpkin got a little soft."